New Jersey sportsmen and women advanced on a number of fronts this week with a bill to create a free registry for anglers, a continued shark season and a step closer to a bear season this fall.

With nine months to go before New Jersey’s saltwater anglers could be forced into paying for a federal saltwater registry program, the state Assembly approved a bill (A823) to create a free, state-run saltwater angler registry.

The vote (54 in favor, 16 opposed, 6 abstain) clears the way for state Senate discussion regarding the companion bill (S1122), which if also passed and signed by the governor would exempt all recreational anglers who fish in New Jersey coastal waters from having to pay NOAA to store their name and contact information on file.

As mandated by the Magnuson Stevens Act, federal surveyors who keep track of recreational fish harvest will be required to use the new saltwater angler registry to contact fishermen about their fishing habits.

As of 2010, most anglers fishing in New Jersey coastal waters are required to register with the federal government in an effort to improve data collection (visit http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov for details). As of 2011, NOAA has said it may begin charging anglers up to $25 apiece to register online with the federal system, unless states come up with their own system of gathering angler information.

“This is the right thing to do for the coastal anglers who fish in New Jersey, both state residents and for those out-of-state fishermen who visit the Jersey Shore every year,” said Capt. Adam Nowalsky, Chairman of the Recreational Fishing Alliance’s New Jersey chapter (RFA-NJ).

New Jersey also has received notice the federal government has agreed to give the state until July 30 to implement regulations necessary to avoid a shark-fishing moratorium. The state faced the moratorium this season due to non-compliance with regulations required in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Coastal Sharks Interstate Fishery Management Plan.

Finally, New Jersey seems to be moving toward authorizing the state’s first black-bear hunt in five years. The New Jersey DEP approved the hunt, but public hearings must be held before final adoption of a plan.